Friday 23 March 2012

Millet & Stuff


A lot has happened lately...

I finally moved into my new flat (which now has a fridge...a doorbell...a kettle...but is still missing useful things like a bathroom mirror - don't ask how I blow-dry my hair cos it's definitely not working, a proper sink, and enough storage in the kitchen to not have everything lying around on the floor).

I finally submitted my thesis (the scary part is that I was more excited about getting a fridge than sending everything off).

I booked the flights for a trip to Georgia and Florida in May (I am rather excited about that one because I can't wait to wear shorts again).

It's finally spring in Berlin (and I can hear the birds in the morning when I wake up).

Oh, and I cooked something I'm actually not embarrassed to write about. Actually, it's something I think you should all try sometime.

I made a millet and orange dessert the other day. It is super easy, super tasty, and on top of that actually quite good for you. That said, according to my dad it does taste rather 'healthy' so if you are looking for a decadent dessert, make some brownies instead, but if you're not too bothered about the health-food factor, give it a try!
In case you haven't noticed, this is probably the 10th recipe or so in a row that contains mainly store-cupboard ingredients, so no major shopping required (if your store-cupboard is as weird as mine).

Millet and Orange Dessert
100g Millet
200ml Orange Juice
100-200ml Water
6 Dates, chopped into pieces
1-2 tbsp Almonds, blanched and roughly chopped
2 Oranges, cut into fillets
2 tsp Agave Syrup
A dash of Olive Oil

Combine the millet, orange juice and water in a saucepan and heat over a medium-high flame. Simmer until the millet is cooked through but still has some bite. This will depend a bit on how high your interpretation of medium-high is and this is also where the whole 100ml variance comes in for the water. I used the whole 200ml this time and it took about 25 minutes until it was done, but sometimes I ended up sitting around for 35 until I was happy with the texture and I didn't need quite that much water, so start off with 100ml and if things become too dry, add some more.
After 15 minutes, start filleting the oranges, if you haven't done so, and add the dates and almonds to the millet.
Once the millet is cooked through, take it off the heat, stir in the olive oil (you really don't need much, it just adds a nice flavour and helps keep the grains separated) and allow things to cool down for a few minutes.
When you're ready to eat or when you get bored waiting for the millet to cool down, stir in some agave syrup (you don't need it but just like the olive oil it adds a deepness to the overall flavour that is really nice) and add the orange fillets.
This would make a really nice breakfast but I didn't have any leftovers because I ate them as an afternoon snack when I got bored waiting for dinner.
Oh, and freshly whipped cream is a really nice addition to all the wholesomeness we've got going on here :)

What have you been cooking lately?
And, more importantly, what are your store-cupboard staples?
Do you want me to write about what I normally have sitting around in my kitchen once I have unpacked everything or would that bore you to tears?

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Wednesday 7 March 2012

New Apartment

I know, I have pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. My new apartment that I was supposed to move into the first week of February turned out to not be quite as finished as the builders and my landlords had promised me it would be.
Four weeks of spending more of my time waiting for painters, carpenters, electricians, and chimney sweepers than I have ever before and scrubbing more buckets of dirty water out of my floors than you could imagine possible I thought I could give you a first peek...



You're not going to see any more because Judith and Mimi who helped me with more than I could have ever asked for haven't seen the more or less final product and they need to see the apartment first.

I've still got a long way to go, especially in the kitchen where a refrigerator would turn me into a very happy person, but I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel :)

I haven't tried out my oven yet, but it's going to happen sooner rather than later.

Right now I'm just excited that I finally have all my crockery and cutlery in one place again.
And that I have more than 5 t-shirts to choose from, and all my shoes, and sweatpants :) all those things you never find enough space in a suitcase for.

What would you not be able to live without if you had to move and knew a lot of your stuff would be stored away in boxes for a few months before you got it back?
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